Hey guys,
It's now almost been a week since i've been here! I can't believe it's only been that long, because it definitely feels like it's been longer. While I do not claim to be an expert on Glasgow in any sense, I can now find my way to classes alone, and even to the subway!
Classes started yesterday...and real life has begun. So far I've had Biology, General Science and Understanding Learning & Teaching (ULT). Mostly we just had introductions in each class, while today we did a few simple labs in Bio. It'll be interesting to do all of these things on the other side, as a teacher. We're getting a lot of tips on classroom management and things we can do to keep the interest of the children. Also, we have spent hours on learning the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence (CforE), which dictates the topics and learning objectives/experiences that we must provide to our students. Their whole system seems really confusing, with multiple changes in the past 20 years. Hopefully I figure it out and don't screw up on my placements!
I'm getting pretty nervous that I wont be able to understand the children I will be teaching. I finally met some Scottish folk that I literally had no idea what they were saying!! A new friend has been teaching me some slang that the children will most definitely be using, and I think i'm going to have to write it all down and study it!! One thing i've noticed, is that each Scot uses the word "wee" about 10 times in a conversation. It's actually amusing, and I think i'm going to tally how much my profs use it in a lesson. (Just to clarify: wee = little)
One of our lecture halls is a converted church, which is definitely the prettiest place i've ever taken notes at! The whole campus is gorgeous, and I will put up some pictures as soon as I find someone with a memory card slot in their laptop!
The weather has gotten a little colder and it's been raining pretty heavily the past few days. My umbrella will go with me wherever I go! Today I asked one of my roommates what she was making for dinner...and she responded "Chinese food." At least we're getting somewhere in terms of conversation haha.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, when I make my first visit of the year to England to see my family! It sounds like i'll have a busy weekend, and I can't wait to see everyone.
Until next time....stay classy Canada!
-Anusha
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Thursday, 19 August 2010
The Longest Day Ever
Hey,
So let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start... (The Sound of Music anyone?). I am in Glasgow, Scotland at the University of Glasgow for Teacher's College, in which I am hoping to end up as a secondary school teacher in Biology and General Sciences. I applied through an educational agent, called Teach (which I would NOT recommend), but alas it ended up being positive as I met a bunch of fellow Canadians traveling with me through Teach. I don't know how I would have made it through these first couple of days without the friendship of these wonderful people!
We arrived in Glasgow around 8am yesterday (3am Canadian time). Our bags came right away and we shared taxis to our halls of residence. Most of us are in the same residence, Maclay. Maclay is split up into a bunch of different buildings, and we were doled out into various buildings. I hauled my extremely heavy suitcase up two flights of stairs and made it to my room. Now, I had looked at the virtual tour of my post-grad rez beforehand, but I had the biggest shock of my life when I opened the front door. There was just a hallway, and an extreme smell of asian cooking (not to be racist - as my background is asian). I ventured into the hallway, dragging my suitcase and looked at each gray door lining it. There appeared to be numbers on most, and I realized I had room 3 (of 5). I unlocked room 3 and found quite a nice room (I'll add pictures later). It has a single bed, huge desk, lots of wardrobe space, bookshelves, my own bathroom (toilet, sink and shower) and two chairs. Happy with my room I decided to find the common room/kitchen. It clearly was being used, with dirty dishes and the smell of food lingering (which still is the case today). I met one of my flatmates who I could hear watching tv inside her room, and she seemed nice but distant. She's moving out in 2 weeks as she has finished her course. (I later met my other flatmates who briefly introduced themselves before shutting themselves back into their rooms). Alas, it does not look like i'll be making friends with them.
The Canadian students then all ventured onto campus to meet with some faculty. We received some general information and then one of our professors took us on a walking tour of the campus and a bit of the city. It was really great, and we were shown around the small subway as well (known as the Clockwork Orange- due to two circles running opposite each other). We walked all day and were zombies for most of it! No sleep on the plane = major jet lag. Also included in our day was a bus trip to ASDA ( sort of like a Wal-Mart). Let's just say it was a long trip haha and we finally made it home with some household items and bedding.
Then we attempted to stay awake so as to stay on Glasgow time. I suggested a dance party, but it didn't fly too well (I wonder why?) haha. I finally got my internet set up and skyped my appa and decided to call it a night.
Overall, i'd say that Glasgow is a nice city with mostly friendly people. The accent isn't too hard to understand so far, with a few exceptions for certain words. I met a few Scottish students in my program today and they were really friendly and wanted to talk after hearing my Canadian accent.
I was feeling overwhelmed yesterday, but I think this is going to turn out just fine! I'm excited for school and to get rid of my jet lag! I'd better head to sleep because I need to wake up early for Registration tomorrow.
-Anusha
So let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start... (The Sound of Music anyone?). I am in Glasgow, Scotland at the University of Glasgow for Teacher's College, in which I am hoping to end up as a secondary school teacher in Biology and General Sciences. I applied through an educational agent, called Teach (which I would NOT recommend), but alas it ended up being positive as I met a bunch of fellow Canadians traveling with me through Teach. I don't know how I would have made it through these first couple of days without the friendship of these wonderful people!
We arrived in Glasgow around 8am yesterday (3am Canadian time). Our bags came right away and we shared taxis to our halls of residence. Most of us are in the same residence, Maclay. Maclay is split up into a bunch of different buildings, and we were doled out into various buildings. I hauled my extremely heavy suitcase up two flights of stairs and made it to my room. Now, I had looked at the virtual tour of my post-grad rez beforehand, but I had the biggest shock of my life when I opened the front door. There was just a hallway, and an extreme smell of asian cooking (not to be racist - as my background is asian). I ventured into the hallway, dragging my suitcase and looked at each gray door lining it. There appeared to be numbers on most, and I realized I had room 3 (of 5). I unlocked room 3 and found quite a nice room (I'll add pictures later). It has a single bed, huge desk, lots of wardrobe space, bookshelves, my own bathroom (toilet, sink and shower) and two chairs. Happy with my room I decided to find the common room/kitchen. It clearly was being used, with dirty dishes and the smell of food lingering (which still is the case today). I met one of my flatmates who I could hear watching tv inside her room, and she seemed nice but distant. She's moving out in 2 weeks as she has finished her course. (I later met my other flatmates who briefly introduced themselves before shutting themselves back into their rooms). Alas, it does not look like i'll be making friends with them.
The Canadian students then all ventured onto campus to meet with some faculty. We received some general information and then one of our professors took us on a walking tour of the campus and a bit of the city. It was really great, and we were shown around the small subway as well (known as the Clockwork Orange- due to two circles running opposite each other). We walked all day and were zombies for most of it! No sleep on the plane = major jet lag. Also included in our day was a bus trip to ASDA ( sort of like a Wal-Mart). Let's just say it was a long trip haha and we finally made it home with some household items and bedding.
Then we attempted to stay awake so as to stay on Glasgow time. I suggested a dance party, but it didn't fly too well (I wonder why?) haha. I finally got my internet set up and skyped my appa and decided to call it a night.
Overall, i'd say that Glasgow is a nice city with mostly friendly people. The accent isn't too hard to understand so far, with a few exceptions for certain words. I met a few Scottish students in my program today and they were really friendly and wanted to talk after hearing my Canadian accent.
I was feeling overwhelmed yesterday, but I think this is going to turn out just fine! I'm excited for school and to get rid of my jet lag! I'd better head to sleep because I need to wake up early for Registration tomorrow.
-Anusha
Intro
Hey everyone,
I've decided to write a blog about my adventures in Scotland this year! So sit back, relax and enjoy.
-Anusha
I've decided to write a blog about my adventures in Scotland this year! So sit back, relax and enjoy.
-Anusha
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